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The head of Stelco’s American parent company says he’s willing to sell the Hamilton-based steel plant as a dispute with the federal government looks like it’s headed to the courts.
In a Tuesday interview with CBC’s Power & Politics, Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves bristled at recent suggestions from Industry Minister Mélanie Joly that there are buyers interested in Stelco’s assets.
“I take a lot of exception on having the minister of industry talking openly to buyers. The company is not for sale,” Goncalves told host David Cochrane.
“I will sell the company after we operate the company for a while — and now that I know that I’m persona non grata in Canada, I will do that.”
Goncalves later floated the idea that such a sale would take place within “another year.”
With the federal government locked in a showdown with Stelco over its layoffs in Hamilton, Power & Politics speaks to the American owner of the steel plant about whether this standoff could wind up in the courtroom.
The CEO’s comments come after Cleveland-Cliffs responded to Joly’s recent demands that it reverse layoffs announced last month or face potential legal action. The company said on Tuesday that it’s in “full compliance” with the obligations it made under the Investment Canada Act when it bought the steelmaker in 2024.
The government argues that the company agreed to keep the number of unionized Stelco employees at 2024 levels through to 2029 when the purchase was made.
Joly indicated in a letter to the company last week that if the government proceeds with legal action, it would be asking the courts to issue monetary penalties against Cleveland-Cliffs and potentially direct the company to divest from Stelco.
Goncalves said that his original aim when purchasing Stelco was to keep the plant from undercutting in the U.S.
“I bought Stelco because I could not afford anymore having Stelco flooding the market here in the United States to the detriment of my own company,” he said.
In a dispute over job cuts at a Hamilton steel plant, the federal government is prepared to take Stelco’s U.S. owner to court over alleged violation of the company’s obligations under the Investment Canada Act. Industry Minister Mélanie Joly speaks with Power & Politics.
In a separate interview on Power & Politics, Joly said she wants further explanation of Goncalves’s original intentions for Stelco.
“I think he needs to explain more what he means by that, because if he says that basically he bought it to ultimately keep the plant idle, he’s proving our case,” the minister said.
Goncalves said that the company is prepared to “defend ourselves” if the federal government turns to the courts.
When announcing the layoffs last month, the Stelco said it was in order to “ensure the survival” of the company, as U.S. tariffs on steel squeeze its sales.
Goncalves has voiced support for U.S. tariffs on Canada in the past. When pressed on Tuesday about those comments, the CEO said his motivation is to protect the U.S. steel industry from cheaper products flooding the market from overseas. He said he wants Canada to take stronger action on foreign steel as well.
“Block the border, allow me to bring the workers back. If you don’t block the border there’s no way to bring the workers back,” he said.
Industry Minister Mélanie Joly told reporters there are ‘potential buyers interested’ in Stelco’s Canadian assets after she sent a demand letter to the American parent company Cleveland-Cliffs on Thursday. ‘They need to abide by their undertakings,’ said Joly of the U.S. steel firm.
Joly argued that the government has taken measures to tighten the steel market, but that the country needs to maintain a certain level of access to overseas steel for now.
“We need to make sure that across the country for our business and Canadians, they need to have access to some steel that is not made in Canada,” she said.
“That is something that is key for many of our manufacturers.”
The minister added that Goncalves knew the market conditions when he purchased Stelco in 2024.
Despite the company insisting the layoffs are required to ensure its survival, Cleveland-Cliffs said last week that Stelco’s third quarter this year was its “strongest” since it acquired the Hamilton plant.
